A British father and son were sentenced to three years in prison and jointly fined Dh14 million after defrauding more than a dozen companies out of millions of dirhams’ worth of supplies.
The pair claimed their two companies had secured contracts valued at billions of dirhams with Expo 2020 Dubai when setting up lucrative agreements in the UAE.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours heard they placed adverts in English-language newspapers in the Emirates seeking suppliers of a variety of goods.
Thirteen companies responded to the false adverts and provided products with a combined value of more than Dh8 million.
Judges were told the son, 32, and his father 58, opened up offices and a warehouse, and hired staff to carry out the elaborate plot.
The duped suppliers contacted police in October of last year when the cheques they received for payment bounced.
“I met the father and son at their offices in Dubai Investment Park and sold them Dh536,000 worth of fencing materials,” said a British manager of a fencing services company.
The owner of a general trading company said he supplied the defendants with carpets worth Dh4m.
“When the cheques they gave me bounced I visited their offices again but found them empty,” the Turkish man said.
Another company was conned out of Dh1.4m in ceramic goods.
The court was told a chemicals company sold the defendants ceramic bonding adhesive worth more than Dh400,000 and was also paid with bad cheques.
“I read the adverts and met with one defendant before agreeing to sell them Dh819,000 worth of plastic material but received dud cheques for that,” the Indian manager of the general trading company said.
Several victims visited the offices and saw what appeared to be an active business with employees but after their cheques bounced they returned to find the offices empty.
Prosecutors charged the father and son, and a fellow British sales executive who worked for them, with fraudulently obtaining millions in cash and products.
The sales executive, 35, was additionally charged with issuing bad cheques worth Dh6.4m.
Only the father and the sales executive were present in court and denied charges against them, while the son remains at large.
“Within the testimonies of several victims, we find a clear declaration that my client neither signed the cheques nor handed them to victims,” said Emirati lawyer Awatif Khouri from Al Rowaad Advocates, representing the sales executive.
She told the court the cheques were issued, signed and handed by the son.
Ms Awatif also summoned witnesses who proved her client was not part of the con.
The sales executive was acquitted of all charges while the son and his father were both convicted.
